The Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go may have disappointed in the Saudi Cup and the Met Mile, but the 5-year-old son of Paynter got back on track Friday night at Iowa's Prairie Meadows with a 10 1/4-length romp in the Grade 3 Cornhusker Handicap. Trainer Brad Cox was pleased with the horse's effort, and told the Thoroughbred Daily News his next target will be the G1 Whitney at Saratoga on Aug. 7.
“It's always great to run in Grade 1's and it's great to have horses that are Grade 1 horses,” Cox told the TDN. “He's a Grade 1 horse. But I do think a race like this one can give the horse confidence and fitness without really getting to the bottom of them. It was a nice race going a mile-and-an-eighth and I think it, being five weeks out, was a nice set up for the Whitney. A race like that can do a lot for a horse. He's a sound, happy horse and we witnessed that last Friday.”
The Whitney is a “Win and You're In” race for the Breeders' Cup Classic, which Cox indicated could be a future target for Knicks Go. The horse won the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland last fall, so Cox would be changing things up to aim for the 1 1/4-mile Classic. The trainer suggested Knicks Go is better around two turns, as both of his poor efforts in 2021 came in one-turn races.
“With the way he ran Friday and the configuration of Del Mar, the Classic is definitely in play,” Cox continued. “Both Breeders' Cup races are in play. At Del Mar, we think a mile-and-a-quarter is something he can handle. I think he's a horse that benefits from a shorter stretch. Keeneland has a short stretch when you run a mile there. Gulfstream has a bit of a shorter stretch. There was a shorter stretch the other night at Prairie Meadows and Del Mar doesn't have a long stretch. Those are things we've picked up on over the last year that seem to benefit him.”
Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.
The post Knicks Go Gains ‘Confidence’ In Iowa, Headed To Aug. 7 Whitney appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
